By John Markwell | Contributing Writer
Regular readers of the GunMag.com may recall a series of articles on .32 H&R Magnum revolvers that have chronicled our journey down the .32 H&R rabbit hole.
You may be relieved to know the journey is almost over, as we now have in hand our version of what Elmer Keith referred to as “the last word” in single action revolvers. While not as ornate, and certainly never to be as famous as Keith’s #5, and not a .45 Colt, our final iteration of the .32 H&R Mag Ruger Single Six is a more spartan and utilitarian single action meant for daily use here in the hills.
It took a while (and some good fortune) to end up with this custom Single Six, but the journey has been worth the time, trouble, and money, as well as proving educational to boot. Custom smiths and serious hobbyists have been modifying single action revolvers for years and many of their ideas were the catalyst for this project. Here’s the story.
This journey started purely by accident. Having an affectation for S&W Kit Guns, we acquired a 631 .32 H&R Mag Kit gun at the Tulsa gun show about four years ago. We bought the gun only because it was a relatively rare Kit Gun and had no interest in the cartridge in particular. Then we shot the little bugger and thought, “what a cool little round!” Sort of a “shrunk” .38 Special. That was just the beginning.
I have to admit to not being a big single action guy, although we’ve had a few over the years and still have a Bowen built OM .44 Mag Ruger Super Blackhawk. Well, somewhere along the way we saw a photo of a custom Ruger Single Six with a modified Bisley grip frame, short barrel, high front sight, nice stocks, etc. That struck a chord and the seed was sewn; I was going to have something like that for an everyday blaster to use as a wood’s loafing gun. I didn’t know Jack about Single Sixes at the time, but was about to learn.
The Evolution of #3
#1 Single Six. Talking to a buddy in Salmon, Idaho about the idea of a custom Ruger introduced me to Mike Broerman of Salmon River Custom in, you guessed it, Salmon. A 6.5-inch Ruger Bisley in .32 H&R Mag was obtained and sent off to Mike with a list of modifications. Shorten barrel to 4 5/8-inches, trigger job at 2 ¾-pounds, round butt the Bisley frame and install a lanyard loop, scallop the recoil shield and loading gate, hone cylinder throats, and a few other minor things. Turns out Mike was semi-retiring so this project took almost two years to come to fruition.
#2 Single Six. While waiting on SS #1 I was learning. I found that there were .32 H&R Single Sixes that were a lot lighter in weight than the Bisley Models due to having 4 5/8-inch barrels from the factory, fluted cylinders, aluminum grip frames and, we found one at a local gun show. This gun led to our association with two knowledgeable and delightful gentlemen in Texas; Fermin Garza and Ronnie Wells; both Ruger gurus. Fermin is a .32 caliber addict who designs and manufactures after-market sights for single action revolvers; specifically brass bead ramp front sights for which I was searching. He also hones cylinder throats to better shoot cast bullets. Fermin and Ronnie have collaborated to produce the RW 2 Dogs Rear Sight which is a machined replacement for the stamped steel blade used in Ruger’s adjustable revolver sights. And then there is the RW Grip Frames to replace the standard Ruger grip frames. Ronnie produces a dizzying array of replacement grip frames. If one needs a custom grip frame to truly fit their hand, Ronnie can fix you up; ask me how I know.
Hobby gunsmithing is fun and can be as involved as one’s desire and bravery allows. Changing out the front sight on our 4 5/8-inch SS was a snap as it required just removing the old front and screwing on Fermin’s Brass beaded front ramp. Trigger jobs are a bit more complex. With a spring kit from Brownell’s, and some time watching a few YouTube videos, we managed to do a pretty good trigger job on SS#2, reducing the pull down to a nice crisp 3-pound let off. However, the plow handle grip of the SS had to go. Enter, Ronnie Wells.
Ronnie produces his CNC machined grip frames for Ruger single actions in brass, stainless steel, and aluminum. After a long conversation, he suggested I try his Potato Judge Jr. in aluminum. This is a smaller round butt version of the Bisley frame that is designed for folks with smaller hands. I had to get a Bisley hammer and trigger to go with the new frame and Ronnie re-did the trigger. The new look was unique and the handling of the gun was dramatic after the grip frame switch.
Spring/Summer 2022 found us out on the great plains shooting gophers and prairie dogs in late May and through most of the month of June. Single Six #2 was complete and made the trip in a Diamond-D Guides Choice chest holster accompanied by a .30 Cal. can of 125gr. Keith SWC handloads. We shot the gun almost daily for the entire time we were on the plains whacking a few dogs and more gophers. The revolver proved to be an accurate and reliable performer that was a joy to tote around and use. Single Six #1 was still in limbo in Salmon. It arrived at the end of 2022.
#3 Single Six.
When it returned, Single Six #1 turned out to be significantly heavier that #2: 39.7-ounces vs. 32.1-oz.; that’s ½-pound difference. SS #1 a very nice custom revolver but it’s a bit on the heavy side for our liking. #1 does shoot like hot cakes though! #2 has proved to be lighter, very handy and accurate, but it just isn’t quite perfect as the 4 5/8-inch barrel is a bit long to carry in a vertical, strong side holster; it pokes into the car or side-by side’s seat. Then, one fateful day when we were perusing Gun Broker (purely by chance BTW) we saw that a guy in Colorado had a Ruger SS in .32 H&R listed with a 3.5” barrel! 3.5-inch! I didn’t know they ever made a 3.5-incher, and, it turns out, Ruger never did! It was a two-tone gun, with a bare aluminum plow handle grip frame, fluted cylinder and adjustable sights. I was on the phone in a heartbeat. The seller said the previous owner was friend (deceased) who told him the gun was as is from the factory. When called, Ruger said the gun was shipped with a 6.5-inch barrel. Long story short, we took a big chance and purchased the gun.
When the box arrived, I was stunned by the quality of the little gun. The barrel had been replaced and really was 3.5-inches, and, it was nicely crowned with the ejector rod almost flush with the muzzle. Cylinder gap was almost non-existent and the throats seemed to be even when checked with a Hornady XTP that measured .312-inch. The entire gun, except for the grip frame, had been professionally polished and blued. The trigger broke at a very clean 2.5-pounds. Someone who knew what they were doing had built this gun. We had scored a true gem! Once again, the plow handle grip frame had to go so the gun was sent off to Ronnie Wells for another PJ jr. grip frame and a Bisley hammer and trigger.
Ronnie confirmed that #3 SS had indeed been ‘smithed by “someone who new their stuff”. I had already put one of Fermin’s bead front ramps on the little gun and replaced the factory rear blade with a RW 2 Dogs custom rear blade; a #3/.340”-high with a .120 U-notch rear, serrated and plain black. The gun shot great but the addition of the PJ jr. grip frame would just top it off!
The Last Word.
It seemed like it took a long time, but a box finally arrived from Texas! Single Six #3 is stunning and, just as cute as a button. Not often does a project turn out exactly as one had planned, or hoped it would, especially when the project started with a gun that one took a big chance on. The RW Potato Judge jr. grip frame, with the spectacular stabilized walnut stocks, makes the compact revolver not only uniquely attractive but very user friendly as well. The weight of the gun was only reduced by 1-ounce compared to 4 5/8-inch SS#2, which surprised us. However, the “handiness factor” was upped considerably in our opinion and the on- inch reduction in barrel length would expand my carry options.
Shooting the little blaster. We had to wait a bit for the weather to cooperate before we could get up to the bench for the first shakedown of SS #3. For ammo we only took our 125gr. Keith SWC load and the 100gr. XTP load. Both proved to be more than accurate out of the 3.5-inch barrel and chronograph results showed only a slight reduction in velocity when compared to a 4 5/8-inch gun. Our 125-grain cast lead Keith load runs 1095fps out of 4 5/8” SS #2 and 1053 out of #3’s 3.5-inch barrel. The100-grain XTP load clocks 1265fps from SS #2 and 1221fps from #3.
Being an old time IPSC shooter, we are wedded to the wide notch Bomar sight picture and found the .120-inch-wide notch of the RW 2 Dogs rear sight blade didn’t quite give us enough light on either side of Fermin’s front blade for our eyes. A quick call to Ronnie had another #3 rear blade in the mail with a .140-inch-wide notch that has proven to be just perfect and completes the little pistol; can’t think of a single thing to change now as the little gun is all we had hoped for and then some.
It may have been presumptuous to compare this project to Keith’s # 5, but it has been an interesting and educational journey. We learned a lot about Ruger Single Six revolvers and the .32 H&R magnum cartridge and met a couple of very knowledgeable hand gunners who provide high-quality, functional add-ons to the revolver-shooting -community. The last word? Maybe not, but this may be the end of the .32 H&R Magnum journey for us. Time to get the little gun afield. Good shooting.
For more info go to; RWgripfames.com and fermincgarza.com
